Newly appointed Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat has urged the donor communities to assist Nepal in a more coordinated manner as Nepal was passing through a difficult situation.
Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat

Speaking at the fifth general convention of the NGO Federation of Nepal in the capital, Kathmandu, on Sunday, Dr Mahat said the donor communities should assist Nepal as per the need of Nepali people rather than imposing their own agendas.

Stating that the government was bearing high debt and had a great challenge of addressing the development goals, Minister Mahat urged the donors to support Nepal’s development goals wholeheartedly.

However, other participants of the programme urged the government to find the resources by reducing the expenditure of the royal palace and unnecessary military expenditures rather than asking donations from the international communities to repay the loans and meeting the development expenditure.

Speaking at the same programme, representatives of the donor agencies suggested that the government formulate a long term peace and development plan for the socio-economic development of the country.

They pointed out the need of implementing inclusive development programmes to bring sustainable peace in the country. They, however, said that it will take some time to prepare strategies to assist Nepal and to provide assistance.

Dr Arjun Karki, chairman of NGO Federation of Nepal, called for transparency and accountability on the part of non-governmental organizations, government and the donor agencies for effective utilization of resources.

Over 600 representatives of non-governmental organizations from all 75 districts in the country are taking part in the two-day general convention that kicked off on Sunday.

A chopper bound for Dhaulagiri Base Camp from Kathmandu skidded at Dhaulagiri Base Camp while landing in heavy winds.

Talking to Nepalnews, Amar Bahadur Shakya, Director of Aviation Operation Department informed that a helicopter of Heli Hansa was forced to land in an emergency.

He informed that the Pokhara airport dispatched a rescue team in the area.

He quoted officials at the airlines as saying that the fuel tank and cockpit were partially damaged during the landing. There were no reports of injuries.

Krishna Jung Rayamajhi, head of the high-level judicial commission formed to probe into atrocities committed against the pro-democracy activists during the recent people’s movement, has said that no oppressor will be spared.

Speaking at a face-to-face program organized by the Reporters’ Club in the capital Sunday, Rayamajhi said, “The commission will remain alert so as not to let the oppressors of the people go scot-free. The government should guarantee us that the culprits will not be spared punishment this time around. ”

Saying that the commission has a heavy duty to fulfill, Rajamajhi, a former Supreme Court judge, said if those who engaged in barbaric oppression on people were not brought to justice it would send a wrong message to the people.

He further said that if legal constraints come into the way during the investigation process, necessary amendments would be made in the laws.

Senior journalist and member of the probe commission, Harihar Birahi, said the current problem of the country was the result the failure of democratic government’s in the past in taking action against the oppressors of the 1990’s popular movement.

Advocates Ram Kumar Shrestha and Ram Prasad Shrestha, both members of the commission, said the panel had authority to summon anybody suspected of suppressing the people. They said the commission would also visit the districts as part of the investigation.

Meanwhile, the commission is to receive a formal letter from the government by today evening regarding its jurisdiction, timeframe and other procedures. Reports said the commission would be given two months deadline to submit its recommendations.

The commission is set to begin its work from Monday.

The government had formed the five-member commission on Friday.

Samuel Tamrat, Special Advisor to the United Nations Undersecretary General for Political Affairs, met separately with Deputy Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and CPN (UML) general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal on Sunday and discussed peace-building measures and possible UN role in it.

Samuel Tamrat (2nd left), political advisor to UN Secretary General meets Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister KP Sharma Oli (2nd right)  in Kathmandu Sunday. Also seen in the picture are Ian Martin (left), OHCHR representative and Matthew Kahane (right), UN resident representative in Nepal, May 7 06. nepalnews.com

Tamrat met with DPM Oli, who also holds the foreign affairs portfolio in the 7-member government, in the morning. He told reporters after the meeting that the UN was ready to offer any help sought by Nepal for restoring peace. He, however, would not comment on the issue of management of arms saying, “it’s too early to talk about arms management.”

Talking to reporters, DPM Oli said the government respected the UN offer for help in establishing peace but made clear there was no need of foreign mediation in peace talks with the Maoists.

Similarly, Tamrat had an hour-long meeting with general secretary Nepal at the UML central office Balkhu in the afternoon. He also met Home Minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula and discussed the latest political development in Nepal.

Tamrat, who has already visited Nepal several times in the past as the special representative of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, arrived in Kathmandu on Saturday on a 10-day visit.

He is scheduled meet Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, senior political leaders and government officials during his stay here.

In what is seen as a major decision taken by the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) government, the council of ministers on Sunday has decided to recall Royal Nepalese ambassadors to 12 different countries.

Talking to reporters after the meeting of council of ministers at the Prime Minister’s residence at Baluwatar Sunday evening, Minister for Home Krishna Sitaula said the new government had decided to recall Nepali envoys to India, United Kingdom, United States of America, Japan, Russia, France, Thailand, Myanmar, China, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Pakistan.

Those being recalled by the government after the change in the government following the people’s movement 2006 include Royal Nepalese ambassador to India Karna Dhoj Adhikary, Nepali ambassador to China Narendra Raj Pandey, ambassador to UK Prabal Shumsher JB Rana, ambassador to USA Kedar Bhakta Shrestha, ambassador to Russia Hiranya Lal Shrestha, ambassador to France Prajwolla Shumsher JB Rana, ambassador to Thailand Tara Bahadur Thapa and ambassador to Myanmar Victory Rana.

Similarly, Royal Nepalese ambassador to Japan Dr. Rameshananda Vaidya, Royal Nepalese ambassador to Saudi Arabia Abulesh Thakurai, Royal ambassdor to Qatar Shyamananda Suman and Royal Nepalse ambassador to Pakistan Pushkar Man Singh Rajbhandari have also been recalled. Dr. Vaidya is a former member of the National Planning Commission while Rajbhandari is a career diplomat.

Those recalled include retired army generals and intellectuals who supported the royal takeover of February 1, 2005.

Minister Sitaula said the ambassadors had been recalled as they had “toed the autocratic line.” He did not elaborate.

Earlier in the day, the meeting of reinstated House of Representatives had called upon the SPA government to dismiss all the ambassadors appointed by the royal government.

Similarly, the council of ministers headed by Prime Minister G P Koirala also decided to scrap all appointments made after October 4, 2002.

On October 4, 2002, His Majesty King Gyanendra had dismissed a multi-party government led by Sher Bahadur Deuba and took over power briefly. He later appointed three prime ministers in a row before taking over himself on Feb. 1, last year.

As per the government’s decision, all political appointmetns to various corporations and state-owned institutions made by successive governments since October, 2002 will lose their jobs.

NGOs must be neutral and sensible on the humanity, human rights and work as power broker for the people

By Krishna C Neupane

The NGO sector is now the eighth largest economy in the world — worth over $1 trillion a year globally. It employs nearly 19 million paid workers, not to mention countless volunteers. NGOs spend about $US15 billion on development each year, about the same as the World Bank. But while the NGO movement has been growing rapidly since the 1980s, the union movement has been in decline. Why, and what does this mean for unions and public services? Let’s try to see.

The links between non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and trade unions run very deep. It was civil society activism, led by trade unions, which paved the way for the rise of NGOs after World War II. Many of them were directly established by unions. The two work together in powerful coalitions (such as the Global Call to Action against Poverty and the anti-sweatshop movement), and run joint campaigns against free trade agreements and various huge companies (think Wal-Mart). It can be a winning combination, as the anti-apartheid struggle showed ten years ago, and the battle against water privatisation is showing today.

In fact the term “social movement unionism” was coined to reflect this wider collaborative approach, which has changed the face of many developing countries, most recently in Georgia and the Ukraine, and previously throughout much of Latin America. NGOs have often acted as proxies for unions in countries where the labour movement is repressed. Codes of conduct and corporate responsibility are often won through joint pressure, and NGO staff tend to be active members within their unions, just as union staffs are often involved with NGO work.

Each year the two exchange huge amounts of money in support of each other’s projects. Some countries (such as Ireland and South Africa) are even going beyond tri-partism to include civil society and NGOs as a fourth social partner. The ILO is currently (and hotly) debating a similar step. The United Nations has given advocacy groups an international framework within which to work. Is this an historical opportunity for unions and NGOs to form the ultimate international alliance? It is not that simple.

The NGO movement is a complex mishmash of alliances and rivalries; charities and businesses; radicals and conservatives. Funding comes in from all quarters, and it goes back out again in every conceivable direction. The World Bank definition of NGOs is broad enough to include Public Service International as one of the world’s oldest. It also includes most churches. The WTO definition is broader still; broad enough to include industry lobby groups such as the Association of Swiss Bankers and the International Chamber of Commerce. The closer one looks, the more inclined one is to wonder whether the expression “non-governmental organisation” has any significant meaning at all.

The term NGO came into currency at the end of the Second World War, as the United Nations sought to differentiate between inter-governmental specialized agencies and private organisations. But the movement’s origins are much older. The first international NGO was probably the Anti-Slavery Society, formed in 1839. The anti-slavery movement, which reached its height at the end of the 18th century, was the catalyst for many organisations that followed.

Other early NGOs grew out of wars, including the Red Cross in the1850s after the Franco–Italian war; Save the Children after World War I; and Oxfam and CARE after World War II. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is now the world’s biggest NGO, with an endowment of $28.8 billion. Some NGOs are sophisticated media darlings; others are waging tireless battles in anonymity at grass-roots level.

“In this increasingly global environment, NGOs are often the shock troops of civil society. If the NGO movement can be compared with any other phenomenon, it is probably the networked chaos of the worldwide web.”
Organisations like Amnesty International are membership-based and refuse to accept money from governments or political parties. Others are huge profit-making organisations, which exist purely to lobby on behalf of profit-driven interests. Increasingly, NGOs are becoming tied to governments by way of funding arrangements and contracts for service.

In 2001 CARE International received almost 70% of its $US420 million budget from government contributions. A 1998 survey showed that a quarter of Oxfam’s income came from the British government and the EU. World Vision in the United States collected US$55 million worth of goods from the US government. In the same year Médecins Sans Frontières got 46% of its income from government sources.

Earlier, a six country study of NGO income found that: “fees for services had increased by 52%, and revenue from the public sector by 40%. In the meantime philanthropically income had only increased by 8%”. Perhaps the only thing that can be said with any certainty about the NGO movement is that it represents civil society’s most visible response to globalisation.

In Nepal Paropakar Sanstha, Nepal Red Cross Society and some other old NGOs are still active and people have trust on their services. In the ‘90s, the NGO movement crossed tens of thousands of registered NGOs in Nepal but it was easy to give birth but hard to foster. So many of them died in their infancy.

Historically speaking, the trade union movement started to develop at roughly the same time – in response to the industrial revolution. But the evolution of unions has run a very different course. After 175 years the movement has developed into the world’s largest democratic force. Reaching from shop floor level in most sectors of most countries, up through national federations and on to a series of regional and global federations, the peak body can justifiably claim to speak for about 155 million people. There may be a huge area of common interest between the two movements, but industrialisation and globalisation are two very different revolutions. The respective forms which have evolved (and the resulting cultural differences) often lead to difficulties and tensions. As one union leader put it recently, “The NGO movement may be a great force for change, but it cannot say what that change should be.” Paradoxically, this lack of a unified political voice may explain the dramatic growth of NGOs since the 1980s. As the World Bank and IMF forced cuts in public services, NGOs were encouraged to move in to fill the gaps. They were considered: “the preferred channel for service provision, in deliberate substitution for the state”. “The World Bank not only encourages member governments to work with NGOs on development projects, but also directly funds the NGO projects. It is reported that from 1973 to 1988 NGOs were involved in about 15 World Bank projects a year. By 1990 that number had jumped to 89, or 40% of all new projects approved.

There is no simple formula to explain or develop the relationship between unions and NGOs. Many are natural allies; others are working in complementary areas; but some are almost competitors, thriving on problems which unions are trying to prevent. The best rule of thumb is probably this: don’t even try to make generalisations about NGOs; it will only lead to delusions. Some tips: Public Service International has worked with NGOs all over the world, at both national and international levels. It played a major role in last year’s Global Call to Action against Poverty, and have been heavily involved in the Our World is Not for Sale network, among others. Deputy General Secretary Alan Leather recently co-edited a book on the relationship between NGOs and unions, in which he concludes: “there are issues of such significance to civil society, including workers and their organisations, that the only way to tackle them is through the broadest possible coalitions”.

In this increasingly global environment, NGOs are often the shock troops of civil society. Unions, perhaps, are the nascent alternative. If the NGO movement can be compared with any other phenomenon, it is probably the networked chaos of the worldwide web. This comparison suggests some pointers on engagement. As with worldwide web pages: • Don’t put too much stock in first impressions.

• Develop a ranking over time by going back more often to ones that work, and less often to those that don’t.

• Be open to new ideas – the search process often improves the question.

• Develop mutual links rather than trying to establish shared structures etc.

As the union movement continues to evolve in the face of globalisation, unions may have more to learn from NGOs than from any other player. As we saw during the unprecedented global actions against poverty in 2005, the best NGOs don’t just meet your expectations, they change them. What could be seen “From The 21st Century NGO: In the Market for Change,” an annual survey of the NGO movement undertaken by Sustainability in partnership with the United Nations and several other organizations and corporations. This study reveals that many NGOs are now shifting from their traditional confrontational roles to more collaborative interactions with governments and businesses. In our context could NGO stand as NGO and represent the much talked about ‘civil society’? To do so, it must be neutral and sensible on the humanity, human rights and work as power broker for the people based participatory political discourse and to ensure good governance, transparent and corruption free society.

Associated with the Project Research and Management Associates, Kathmandu, Neupane is currently working as UN volunteer with United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo. Please send your comments to [email protected] or [email protected]

(Editor’s Note: Nepalis, wherever they live, as well as friends of Nepal around the globe are requested to contribute their views/opinions/recollections etc. on issues concerning present day Nepal to the Guest Column of Nepalnews. Length of the article should not be more than 1,000 words and may be edited for the purpose of clarity and space. Relevant photos as well as photo of the author may also be sent along with the article. Please send your write-ups to [email protected])

Chief of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Nepal, Ian Martin, has urged both the state and the Maoist to formulate a code of conduct to ob observed during the ceasefire and stick to that.

Speaking at a press meet organised by the Regional Office of the UN OHCHR in Nepalgunj on Friday, Martin said both the warring sides must formulate and respect a code of conduct to prove their sincerity towards peace negotiations and offer a peaceful outlet of the Maoist insurgency.

He further said that the recent people’s movement in Nepal had provided a big opportunity for establishing durable peace in the country.

Martin the OHCHR was investigating the suppression of pro-democracy demonstrators in the course of the people’s movement.

In reply to a query by journalists, Martin said the United Nations was ready to play a role in the government-Maoist talks if sought by both the sides. “The UN is ready to offer its good offices for the resolution of the problem if both the government and the Maoists ask for it,” he said.

Asked to comment on the show of strength by the Maoists and the security personnel even after the announcement of ceasefire, Martin said, “Demonstration of weapons does not bode well. A code of conduct needs to be formulated and both the parties should adhere to it.”

Their Majesties the King and Queen offered worship to Goddess Dakshinkali at Shree Dakshinkali temple at the outskirts of Kathmandu on the occasion of Baisakh Shukla Astami on Friday.

The royal couple worshiped Goddess Dakshinkali with an offering of Panchabali– a sacrifice of animals and birds of five different species.

Reports quoted a priest at the temple as saying that the royal couple arrived at Dakshinkali, located some 25 kilometers south-west from the capital, at around 10.30 a.m. The ceremony– that lasted for one-and-half hours– involved sacrifice of a goat, a lamb, a water buffalo, a rooster and a duck.

Every year, the royal couple visits the temple for Diwali Pooja on Baisakh Asthami [eighth day of the lunar fortnight] and offers worship to the Goddess.

This was the first prayers by Their Majesties after the reinstatement of the dissolved parliament last month.

The House of Representatives (HoR) on Friday issued directives to the government to initiate action against officials involved in the controversial Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC) formed after royal takeover of last year.

The House meeting unanimously adopted the resolution tabled by Ramesh Lekhak of Nepali Congress Democratic, condemning the extra-judicial act of the Commission against democratic political party leaders.
Though the Supreme Court had dismissed the RCCC on February 13, the House directed the government to take action against the officials.

The resolution stated that the Commission was set up with an ulterior motive to defame and humiliate democrats and was against the principles of natural justice.

Participating in the discussion, MPs Lekhak, Dharma Nath Prasad Shah, Pari Thapa and Ram Kumar Chaudhari demanded strong action against them.

Responding to the MPs’ demands, Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat said the government is ready to take action against the King’s appointees.

The controversial commission had jailed former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and former minister Prakash Man Singh for 10 months after the king seized power early last year. The Commission that could investigate, execute and punish anybody it wanted had also taken action against dozens of bureaucrats and officials.

Friday’s session of the House also passed a proposal put forth by MP Suresh Kumar Karki to take action against the killer of MP Hem Narayan Yadav.

Meanwhile, MP Rajendra Mahato put forth a proposal seeking a direction to the government to form a code of conduct so that peace talks would be successful. The MPs will discuss the issue on Saturday.

Chairman of All Nepal National Independent Students’ Union-Revolutionary (ANNISU-R), the Maoist student wing, Lekh Nath Neupane, has warned party leaders of conspiracies that may be hatched by the royal palace if elections to a Constituent Assembly are delayed.

Addressing a mass meeting organised by the Maoists at Adarshanagar stadium in Birgunj, Neupane said the possibility of “conspiracies against the Nepali people cannot be ruled out as the King still controls the army.”

“A fair Constituent Assembly cannot be imagined until the Royal Nepalese Army is transformed into national army,” he added.

Addressing the gathering, vice-chairman of Birgunj Chamber of Commerce and Industries (CCI), Sushil Mittal, said businessmen were compelled to pay taxes to both the government and the Maoists. He urged the Maoists to stop collecting double taxes from traders.

Vice-chairman of the Maoist-aligned All Nepal Farmers’ Association, Bhakti Lamichhane and Secretary of the Federation of All Nepal Trade Unions, Rajan Timilsina, said Maoists were returning to peaceful politics to establish a democratic republic through Constituent Assembly.

Meanwhile, the prisoners of conscience, being held at Bharatpur Jail, have urged the CPN-Maoists not to hold dialogue with the government until all political detainees are set free.

Issuing a press statement on Friday, the detainees said that delay by the government in performing different tasks according to the mandate of the recent people’s movement has raised doubts about its motives.

There are altogether 50 prisoners of conscience in Bharatpur Jail.